Sustainable land use using consensus mapping and conflict resolution

Land use conflicts are the typical example of spatial conflicts. They are intrinsically complex and require a comprehensive approach to their solutions. It is necessary to come to grips with the nature of their complexity to provide adequate support to deal with them. Development of land management plans through the participation of stakeholders is being appreciated and accepted as a requirement for sustainable land use. However, the involvement of stakeholders (participatory approach) gives rise to many questions. Who are the stakeholders? How to identify them? How to empower them? How to lead them through the process of negotiation? How to collate their interests to resolve the conflicts? How to facilitate this process? etc. This is an endeavour to answer the questions relevant to the support and facility that can be provided for conflict resolution by using the suitable techniques and technology. This paper introduces the concept of GIS-based collaborative decision-making and presents a general model that is developed on the basis of decision theory to support the process of conflict resolution in the context of sustainable land use.